The Lion King: Aiden's Journey
by thatguyonthestreet
Summary: Aiden never had it easy. His father was a psychopath who was a notorious drug dealer, and his mother died when he was 14. Now 22, Aiden is forced to go with his father to Tanzania for a deal. But when a gunfight erupts, and Aiden barely escapes, how will Aiden do in the wild? Will he meet new friends or be another animal's next meal? Contains drug reference, swearing, and violence.
1. Chapter 1: Home

Chapter 1: Home

It's been awhile since I've seen any signs of civilization. I've been driving for hours now, but I don't know where to. Maybe you might be wondering why I'm driving endlessly in

Tanzania, well, better to explain now than later. You see, I was born into a dreadful family. My mother died from a drug overdose of Prozac when I was 14. My father, on the

other hand, was a drug dealer. He forced me to come with him to Tanzania to do a deal, but then a gunfight erupted, and my father was shot in the ribs. I managed to snatch a

Beretta Model 92 with 4 magazines, which are now in my backpack. Alongside that, there's also have a lighter, my phone with earbuds, a hunting knife, and a water bottle.

Currently, I am driving a 2014 Grand Cherokee Summit that I stole, and my plan is to just try to survive out here in the wild, far away from any humans. My dad was always

abusing her, and his cruel nature made my mom depressed. She tried to contact the authorities, but when she did, my father would torture her into submission, and she was

locked in the basement. Due to everything that my mom had to deal with, she asked me to give her Prozac, which I did. This went on until in the end she overdosed and died.

How did my dad react? He took out her organs and sold them on the black market. I will never forget what he did. Imagine seeing your father, not giving a fuck about your

mother's corpse, but instead dissecting her and selling the organs into the black market. It seemed like he was extremely happy with her death, as it made him a lot of money.

* * *

But right now, that doesn't matter; my parents are dead, I have nowhere to stay, I have no money, and now I'm considered a criminal. When I was 10, I had a dream that I

could run away to a beautiful place, where my dad would never abuse me again, and I could live peacefully. Today is that day, and I hope I can find out if that the dream was

true. It was 9:00 PM, from what my phone told me. I parked my stolen jeep and got out my headphones. After plugging them into my phone, I started listening to Space Oddity

by David Bowie, as I started to doze off.

* * *

I woke up from my slumber, realizing it was early morning as the Sun was starting to rise. Taking a gulp of clean water, I started to drive. It must have been at least 40 minutes

until something caught my eye. Hyenas?I tried to drive by slowly, but my plan failed as the pack noticed me. There was at least 9 of them, and they were consuming a carcass

of a zebra. Then, the worst possible thing had to happen; my wheel popped out of the blue. Fearing the worst, I saw them getting ready to attack.

"You gotta be fucking kidding me..." I muttered to myself as I quickly starting digging in my backpack and pulled out my pistol, but before I could get it out, they attacked. They

managed to break through the front windows and were now in the jeep. Quickly, my hands grabbed the door knob and I dove into the ground, turned around, and aimed my

pistol at one of them. **BANG** went off the gun as it hit one of the hyenas, that were now crawling out of the jeep to get me, in the head. The other 8 were shocked by the loud

bang, so I fired again. **BANG** went off another bullet, that hit one of them in the leg.

"He's not worth it," one of them said, "let's get out of here!"

With this, they ran off. Before the sense of accomplishment filled me, a realization occurred. Did that hyena just talk? Was I already at the brink of insanity? Maybe talking

animals are just a common thing around here? Regardless, talking animals were at the least of my concern at the moment. Looking at the dead body of the hyena that had

been shot, I already knew what had to be done.

* * *

To cut to the chase, I started a fire and had a nice meal. The sound of the fire crackling made me feel relaxed. Thoughts started to race around my head. Is this how I'm going to

live for the rest of my life? Will I ever return to civilization? Who knows. Feeling so relaxed, my eyes started looking at my surroundings. I realized how beautiful the land looked;

there was a river, some zebras, and giraffes, and far away from me was a humongous rock formation. The amazement in my eyes was clearly shown. It was incredible to see

this giant structure in a flat land that had no hint of human activity. Should I explore it? No, I thought, what if there are lions there? Being mauled to death is not the way I

would like to die. Then, my head turned to see a lion, except he wasn't massive at all; it was a cub. Based on his appearance, and what I knew about lions, it looked like a male.

I wasn't afraid of him at all, but his presence might mean his parents were nearby.

"Who are you?" He asked me. Without questioning his ability to speak, and my desire to speak to anyone else than myself, I replied,

"My name is Aiden, and who might you be?"

"My name is Simba," he answered.

From what I can see, he is nowhere near his parents, nor any other lions. My curiosity started to rise as I wondered what he was doing out here.

"Why are you so far away from your parents?" I ask, "It's starting to get dark, and you look very young to be out here by yourself."

Simba gets a sad expression on his face, as he tries to find a reply.

"I snuck out, that's all. I just wanted to see how the Pride Lands looked at night."

"Oh, well you should be getting back."

Taking a sip of water from my bottle, I noticed Simba hadn't walked away. Instead, he was just staring at me, like he was seeing an alien or a paranormal creature. Trying to

ignore him, I started to think about what I would do tomorrow, and if staying somewhere in these parts would be a good idea, when suddenly my thoughts were interrupted

again.

"Hey um... you don't... um.. what animal are you?"

"What? Oh, well I'm a human."

"Hu-man? I've never heard of that. Do you live here?"

"I don't really know. I used to live somewhere far away, but now I'm on a journey to find a new home. I've been traveling for miles, far away from my species after an accident..."

"How about you stay with me? I can introduce you to my dad, and you can become part of the pride! You wouldn't have to travel anymore! We have food and water too!"

What Simba suggested startled me. It was a lot to take in. It was just absurd. Living with a bunch of lions that not only can talk, but have the ability to rip me into shreds, then

have me for a Thanksgiving feast? Hell no! But then again, where would I go? Sleeping in a jeep that has a flat tire and broken windows isn't exactly the most comfortable place

to rest. From what I'm been understanding, this entire place has talking animals. Who knows? Maybe the lions wouldn't kill me on sight. If they could talk, maybe they could

show sympathy towards me, and be rational. Perhaps I could at least try? If anything happens, running is always an option. Outrunning a lion is beyond impossible, but I might

be able to in my jeep if I decide to replace the tire with the spare tire in the trunk.

"OK, I guess, lead the way."

As I follow Simba to the rock formation, my mind starts to recap what just happened; my father got gunned down, I stole a jeep and drove away, I got attacked by talking

hyenas, and then a lion cub is asking me if I wanted to stay with him as I have nowhere else to go. Maybe it'll work out. This could be my second chance. If only my mom was

just as lucky. She was innocent. She loved me. But my dad was a devil. No, even worse. He was the definition of fear. The definition of a monstrosity. But he's dead now, and so

is my old life.

 _This is Major Tom to Ground Control_

 _I'm stepping through the door_

 _And I'm floating in a most peculiar way_

 _And the stars look very different today_

 _For here_

 _Am I sitting in a tin can_

 _Far above the world_

 _Planet Earth is blue_

 _And there's nothing I can do_

 **For copyright reasons, Space Oddity is owned by the former David Bowie and now is owned by** **Mick Rock 2002. The Lion King franchise is owned by Disney.**


	2. Chapter 2: Acceptance

Chapter 2: Acceptance

It was a normal day. Just an ordinary day of my life in Hell. I never suspected a thing. But, when checking up on my mother in the basement, I instead found the dead corpse of a woman which my mind couldn't believe was my mother. Her corpse had no physical injuries, from what my eyes could tell, but her face was terrifying. It was, just a blank expression. Nothing more, nothing less. Not sad, or happy, or anything. Her face gives me nightmares to this day, but at this point, what doesn't? My dad, instead of showing sympathy, or any human emotions, he climbed down the stairs and put my mother on a table. What I saw was too gruesome to describe. In simple words, she was missing all her organs, and her body was now mutilated. The devil of a man also took out her eyes, brain, and even teeth. Watching my father digging his hands into the body of your mother with no remorse made me pass out. When waking up, I discovered my mother's body to be removed, and I was still lying on the cold hard basement floor. Instead of getting up, I just curled up into a ball and started to lament.

* * *

"Come on, we're here!" Simba yelled in excitement as my mind woke up from my daydream. The feeling of anxiety filled my body as a roar was heard, and an enormous red-maned lion appeared aggressively from the top of the rock.

"Simba, where have you been?!" The lion castigated.

"I'm sorry dad-I was just, curious how everything looked at night..." Simba replied.

"You had me worried," the lion said, then he looked at me and asked, "Who is this?"

"My name is Aiden Tillman or just Aiden," I say, clearly looking terrified on the outside despite my calm voice.

"Might I ask what you are doing here with my son?"

I explained him about my journey of finding a new home, after having my parents killed, and Simba invited me to live with him. As my mouth was rambling, I was suddenly interrupted.

"Wait a second, aren't you a human?"

"Yeah, I am," I responded.

His face turned from confusion to pure hatred against me. He then started to holler at me.

"YOU ARE NOT WELCOMED HERE!" He roared at me. "YOUR SPECIES WAS THE ONE THAT HAS BROUGHT TERROR TO THESE LANDS!"

"But da-" Simba tried to reason with his dad.

"I'm doing this for your own good! He will never be welcomed here! NEVER!"

Simba ran off up the rock, while Mufasa put all of his attention and rage at me.

"You are hereby forbidden to ever enter these lands! If I ever see you again, your life will not be spared!"

* * *

Hastily, I sprinted as fast as I've ever had back to my jeep. It was worth a shot at least. Why does he hate me so much despite him knowing diddly-squat about me? If that bastard even spots a glimpse of me, I'm not coming back in a single piece. How could I change his mind? How could I change anyone else's? Throughout my life, I've always felt like an outcast. With my dad doing his illegal transactions as secretly as possible, this gave me an opportunity to explore the outside world when he was out. At this point, the only reason he kept me was for me to use as "backup" or even maybe carry out his business when he dies. Anyways, I've digressed. Never have my eyes ever seen the inside of a school, as my mom home schooled me throughout her life. After managing to get a phone after stealing my dad's earnings bit by bit, my mind was blown after experiencing all of these incredible places, such as the Eiffel Tower, Leaning Tower, Flatiron Building, and the Grand Canyon. All of these places were insane for my 10-year-old brain to experience. And yes, I was sheltered that well. Sometimes after sneaking outside, I've had the pleasure of having conversations with local kids. They all went to school, from what I was aware of. Some of them knew more than I did, even though I was significantly older than them. But most of all, the conversation that sticks to me the most is when I had my first time coming across with a bully. Here's how the conversation went:

"Hey kid, I haven't seen you around. What's your name?"

"Oh, um, hey. My name is Aiden."

"Sounds retarded. Mate, how come I've never seen you? I know every kid on this damn street!"

"I don't go outside much. My parents don't let me."

"Bullshit, I bet you get fucking abused. I'd love to see it. Are your parent's prostitutes?"

"Hell no, they aren't!"

"Ha, like I'd believe a scrawny kid like you."

As he said that, he ran over to me and punched my nose. Blood spurred my face as his maniacal laughter overthrew all noises. With this, never had my little mind ever experienced such torture except for my dad, and I promised myself that I would never turn out that way. Never would I become anywhere near my father, or that mentally-ill squirt. My father never showed me any acceptance for my existence. This was true for my mother until you-know-what happened to her. It's like I'm a mutated freak that doesn't fit anywhere. Hell! It feels like my entire life has been an application letter that was rejected multiple times, despite me only sending it once. All I wanted was to try to become a part of the "pride" as they call it, but nope. It was getting pretty dark, so I used my black leather jacket as a blanket. Now, look at that? I'm back to where I started! Back to where I have no friends, no comfort, and the possibility of me being mauled by anything that discovers me haunts me as I drift away in the damaged jeep.

* * *

Getting up, the time was 6:00 AM. My stomach started growling. The last thing I ate was hyena meat, which surprisingly tasted like chicken. Time to go hunting. Arming my gun, my eyes started to scan my surroundings for food. All I could see were some elephants, which obviously my Beretta couldn't handle with. Then, to the right of me, finally, zebras were spotted. Ha! Time to feast! Instantaneously, I started to creep up on my prey, but before I could fire, a yelp was heard. My head turned around, as I witnessed a lioness being surrounded by 4 hyenas. The hyenas were circling around her, entrapping her between them. Then, all the hyenas ambushed her. Instead of freaking out, all I did was hold up my gun and pulled the trigger 2 times. Both shots drilled into a hyena, who dropped dead. The remaining hyenas stopped their assault to see me, which allowed the lioness to defeat the hyenas when they were off-guard. She was going to say something to me, but all I remember is my body being thrown onto the grass as a hyena got me from behind. Trying to use my gun, he managed to knock it off me as it fell beside me. Great. Just Great. He started to bite my chest, as I did everything I could to get him off me. It proved useless, but before certain death unfolded, the lioness I assisted tackled him down, as he ran for the hills. The feeling of lightheadedness started to come in. The excruciating pain of my wounds made me almost paralyzed. Oh and, the cherry on top to my bad luck. A roar was heard.

"What is going on here?!" It was Simba's dad. He noticed me on the ground.

"What did he do to you, Sulfur?!" He questioned as he looked to the lioness.

That was the last thing I heard before I blacked out.

* * *

"Where the heck am I?!" My head jerked as I noticed my body was laying on a rock.

Then, the realization of me being in a cave filled me. Am I in a lion kitchen? Am I about to be eaten? Walking to the opening, automatically I noticed how high up I was.

"Oh, you're awake." I hear a voice beside me. Turning my head to the voice, it was the lioness from before, who think is Sulfur. At first, my mind had no idea how to respond in the most appropriate way.

"Am I going to be eaten anytime soon?" I finally asked.

"Of course not! Why would we Aiden?" Sulfur replied.

"How do you know my name, Sulfur?"

"How do you know mine is the better question. Oh and, Mufasa told us."

Mufasa huh? Guessing that's Simba's dad. Then I remembered how a hyena assaulted me. Checking my shirt, that was now torn up, my cuts were... healed? But how?

"How am I healed?" I asked Sulfur.

"Mufasa told Rafiki that you were wounded and need medical attention."

"Oh, well thanks."

"Hey listen, Mufasa wanted to talk with you privately. It's near where the hyenas were."

"OK then, I'm on my way."

As I climbed down the rock, it was time to reflect on my day. Now, look at that! Finally decent progress! But now, my concern was finding Mufasa. My only idea to where he is was where I blacked out. Despite me being almost murdered, and everything that happened to me in the past, it's nice to have the feeling of acceptance and hope again. But, you know what? I'm still pretty hungry...

 **For Copyright Reasons, The Lion King** **Franchise is owned by Disney.**


End file.
